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Nursing at top of best job prospect list in Ontario

An Ontarian hunting for a career with strong prospects for employment in the next few years should take a serious look at nursing, according to an analysis of top job trends in the province by Emsi.

If on the hunt for good job prospects and top dollar, the same analysis found managers are most likely to find themselves in that enviable position.

Joshua Wright, director of marketing, workforce & economic development with the labour market analytics firm, said the numbers show that health fields in general – and nursing in particular – are expected to see the biggest jobs gains between 2017 and 2022 in Ontario.

“In the 2015 report, registered nurses (were not) in the top five,” Wright said in an email. “But they’re at the top of the list here. And nurses aides, which ranked fifth among all occupations two years ago with 5,400 projected new jobs, are expected to add even more jobs.”

Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), said nursing was traditionally thought of as a career for women only, a type of professional “mothering.”

Now, the field is welcoming men, women, transgender, young people, and those pursing a second career, including a former engineer, she said.

“Nursing today is a career that although gladly and proudly maintains a caring, compassionate aspect... it is also a very sophisticated, knowledge-based profession,” Grinspun said. “We have people from all walks of life.”

There are many opportunities and programs to help people improve within their career, especially in Ontario, she said.

“Anybody who wants to have a meaningful, productive and well-remunerated profession can come into the RN workforce and into the Nurse Practitioner workforce,” Grinspun said.

However, the RNAO is raising red flags going into Nursing Week Monday that some health facilities are choosing to replace RNs with lower qualified and less paid health-care workers.

Still, Emsi is projecting a 9% increase in nursing positions by 2022.

In addition, IT analysts and early childhood educators are expected to see job growth in the next five years.

The economic data adviser provided the Toronto Sun with the latest look at the top jobs in Ontario – those likely to see increased employment and those likely to pay the most.

The data pointed to changes in career growth, like a tilt in demand for more elementary school teachers than high school teachers, although education is strong across the board.

Emsi also assesses which of those fields are the most lucrative.

“In general, the updated lists reflects that the top earners in Ontario among growing occupations are managers, engineers, and IT professionals,” Wright said. “Computer and information systems managers have the best combination of project job gains and high median wages.”